Small storms add up in time, cost for public works crews

Friday

Jan 24, 2014 at 2:00 AM

THOMPSON — Size matters, but so does frequency.

Leonard Sparks

THOMPSON — Size matters, but so does frequency.

So far, the region's road crews can boast of a winter without a "Snowpocalypse" or "Snowmageddon." But plow and salt trucks are racking up mileage battling the small nuisance storms and colder-than-normal temperatures that have defined this winter.

"Sometimes you'll get these flurries come through two and three times a day, and you've got to go out and use salt two or three times," said Richard Benjamin, highway superintendent for the Town of Thompson.

Temperatures in the National Weather Service region that includes Sullivan County have averaged 19.9 degrees in January, about 2.3 degrees lower than normal. Middletown belongs to a region whose average temperatures have been about 1 degree below normal.

Highs for Middletown over the next week are forecast to range between 16 degrees and 31 degrees and for Monticello between 10 degrees and 28 degrees. Snow is also in the forecast for the next seven days.

"When you get snow and it's cold, you do use a little more salt," Benjamin said.

Sullivan County spent under $500,000 on salt during last year's relatively mild winter, Public Works Commissioner Ed McAndrew said. Spending this winter is about $695,000, and is expected to reach about $1 million, he said.

"Not that we've had big huge storms, but we've had a lot of small storms," McAndrew said. "If you've got two or three inches, you've got to go deal with it."

The Town of Wallkill budgets for three snowstorms per month between December and February, Public Works Commissioner Louis Ingrassia Jr. said. Tuesday's storm cost the town about $38,000, including $16,335.35 for manpower and $14,588.64 for salt.

Adding plowing to the tab would increase the total bill by another $10,000, Ingrassia said.

"Right now we are on track and budget for our 2013-2014 storm season," he said. "However, the extreme cold weather, compounded by numerous snow and ice events, does have negative impacts on our snow budget."

Thompson's salt trucks are busy this year after a couple of relatively mild winters. But spending is not necessarily at a budget-busting pace, according to Benjamin.

Thompson uses an average of 6,000 tons of salt each winter, he said. Salt use in November and December was a combined 2,535 tons. In January usage has totaled 1,550 tons, at a cost of about $50,000 per ton.

Thompson also pretreats its roads, using a special brine made of chemicals and salt. It reduces ice accumulation, saving on salt use. And unlike salt, it works well when temperatures drop below 20 degrees, which has been often this month.

Benjamin expects salt use to decline in February as temperatures rise.

"February it starts to warm up, so even if you get a lot of snow it melts on its own," he said.